Proposal caps hike on property tax for some
As property taxes increase with soaring property values, a state senator from Columbus plans to introduce legislation that would cap property tax increases at 5% per year statewide.
The legislation is similar to a proposal introduced last year. Proponents say it is designed to keep people in their homes by setting an annual cap aimed at helping older residents on fixed incomes and at low-income residents living in gentrifying neighborhoods.
“We will prevent exorbitant spikes,” said state Sen. Hearcel F. Craig, D-columbus, who will be sponsoring the legislation. He had introduced similar legislation last year that stalled in the Republican-controlled Statehouse.
Property owners making up to 100% of the area median income would be eligible. In Franklin County, the area median income is $58,700 for a one-person household and $83,800 for a family of four.
About 60,000 Franklin County households would be eligible, Franklin County Auditor Mike Stinziano said during the Monday morning online press event to discuss the legislation. Properties eligible would include owner-occupied homes and two- and threeunit buildings where the owner occupies one unit.
Stinziano said the legislation would help make taxes a little more predictable for property owners on fixed or low incomes.
A homeowner would have to pay the full amount if they make a different home their primary residence; they expand the existing home’s usable square footage equal to 10% of the original home or 200 square feet, whichever is smaller; or if the property is subject to a tax abatement.
Under the legislation, the state would make up the difference to local jurisdictions such as school districts, as it does under homestead exemptions. When Republican Gov. John Kasich was in office, state lawmakers slashed local government funding by half.
“The state needs to pay its fair share of local government funding,” said Craig, who is assistant minority whip for the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus.
Lela Boykin, a Near East area commissioner who has lived in her house in that part of Columbus for 40 years, said some homeowners won’t make improvements to their homes fearing assessed values will go up and property taxes along with that.
“I would not like to get priced out of my neighborhood because of property taxes. I would like to pass on my house to my nephew,” said Boykin, whose neighborhood has seen property values rise as developers build apartments and some homeowners fix up houses as it grows in popularity.
“We want to get some relief so we can put some improvements in our homes,” she said. “We would like our neighborhoods to be stabilized, not see a lot of people move out because of taxes.”
Boykin said it’s a Catch-22. “We want to see development happen,” she said. “We want to see the commercial district come alive again.
“Then you see developers get tax abatements for 10-15 years” from city council.
Carlie Boos, the executive director of the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, said fostering homeownership is a key to building wealth. “Steep tax spikes hinder that,” Boos said.
Those consequences affect seniors on fixed incomes and low-income residents in communities of color facing gentrification, she said.
“The time to tackle these challenges is absolutely right now,” Boos said.
At least 34 states have some type of property tax “circuit breaker.” This bill is modeled after a Nevada law that caps property tax increases at 3%.
Asked about the difficulty of passing legislation in a General Assembly with Republican majorities in the Senate and House, Craig replied, “We’ve worked very hard with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure there’s movement on this.
“This was not done in isolation,” added Craig, who is in his first term as a state senator after two two-year terms as a state representative. “We have listened to residents, the community.”
Ohio Senate Republican spokesman John Fortney said it was too early to speak on the proposed legislation as the measure had not been introduced. mferenchik@dispatch.com @Markferenchik